CHINA 





\\ 



The 

Outbreak 
In 
China 



THE 

OUTBREAK 

I N 

CHINA 

ITS CAUSES 

BY 
Rev. F. L. Hawks Pott, D,D. 

President of St. John's College, Shanghai 
President of the American Associ- 
ation of China 



NEW YORK 

James Pott & Company 
1900 



71406 

Copyright, 1 900, by James Pott & Co. 



library of Congress] 

iwo Copies Received 
NOV & 1900 

Copyright entry 

fact* %U 14 00* 

StCONO COPY. 
Oativerari to 

omm D'.vistQN, 
NOV 19J900- 






Press of J. J. Little & Co., 
Astor Place, New York. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction 



PAGE 
I 



Predisposing Causes 9 

1. Poverty of the Masses 

2. Official Corruption 

3. Innate Spirit of Exclusiveness 

Gradual Break-up of the Empire after the 
War with Japan 17 

1. Seizure of Kiao-chao by Germany 

2. The Lease of Port Arthur to Russia 

3. Lease of Wei-hei-wei to the British 

Government 

4. Italy's Demand for Sanmen Bay 

5. Extension of Foreign Settlements 

Introduction of Railways, Concessions to 
Foreign Syndicates, the Subsidizing of 
China by Foreign Capital 37 



vi CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Coup d'£tat of the Empress Dowager, and 
the Beginning of the Anti-Foreign Move- 
ment 47 

Uprising of the " Boxers " 77 

Missionary Enterprise in China 93 

What Shall be Done about It? 113 

What Shall be Done with China? . . . . 117 



Introduction 



Introduction 

RECENTLY the eyes of the world have 
been directed toward China as never 
before. The unprecedented anti-foreign up- 
rising has taken us by surprise, and found 
us at first quite unprepared to cope with it. 
All great cataclysmal catastrophes, however, 
are the result of forces that have been si- 
lently and secretly at work. So is it with 
this eruption in China. The missionaries, 
who live in closest touch with the people, 
and hence naturally know the temper of 
their minds, had been predicting for a long 
time that we were on the eve of the out- 
burst of a mighty conflagration. The 
11 North China Daily News," the leading 
paper of the East, also read aright the signs 
of the times, and uttered many warnings 
as to what might be expected. These 
prophets of unpleasant events were not, 



4 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

however, greatly heeded. Blindness seemed 
to fall on the eyes of the foreign minis- 
ters in Peking, and, as their respective 
countries regarded the utterances of their 
official representatives as almost oracular, 
but little credence was given to statements 
of an ominous nature. Thus, although the 
outbreak came to people in the West like a 
thunderbolt out of a clear sky, it was not 
without its preparatory stages and might 
have been foreseen. 

My present purpose is to inquire into 
the causes of this outbreak. It may seem 
to some that this undertaking is super- 
fluous ; they may argue, " Since the disturb- 
ance is come, we need not waste our time 
in speculating as to its causes, but only 
exert ourselves to suppress it and restore 
law and order." It is just because people 
are apt to reason in this way that the writer 
deems it important to make as clear a state- 
ment as he can of what he believes to be 
the origin of the trouble. Unless we know 
the causes, we cannot discover the best way 
of dealing with the disturbance, any more 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 5 

than a physician can properly treat a dis- 
ease until he has diagnosed it. Further- 
more, unless we know the causes, and 
effect something toward their permanent 
removal, we can have no guarantee that 
similar outbreaks will not occur in the 
future. 

To trace the origin of the present up- 
heaval in China is no easy matter, for this 
anti-foreign outbreak, like the mythical 
hydra, has many heads. We cannot point 
to any one thing and say it is the sole 
cause of all the trouble. We may even 
carry our simile further, and say the pres- 
ent outbreak is also like the hydra, in that 
something more must be done than merely 
the chopping off of the heads of the dragon. 
The wounds must be cauterized, or the 
heads will grow again, and all our labor 
have been spent for naught. 

Diplomats are proverbially lovers of 
peace, and it is greatly to be feared that 
the task now undertaken by the allied 
forces will be inadequately accomplished, 
and that the reign of diplomacy will inter- 



6 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

vene, and the " patching-up " process be 
begun before the guilty have been brought 
to the bar of justice. 

Unless drastic measures be employed, it 
will surely come to pass that the last state 
of China will be worse than the first. 

It is in the hope that fuller information 
in regard to the condition of China, and a 
more perfect understanding of the causes 
of her misery, will lead to a vigorous and 
far-sighted policy on the part of the United 
States Government and other Western 
Powers, that this contribution to the study 
of the " China Question" is attempted. I 
will begin by tabulating a list of the causes, 
which I propose to discuss seriatim : 

I. Predisposing causes. 

i. Poverty of the masses. 

2. Official corruption. 

3. Innate spirit of exclusiveness. 

II. Gradual break-up of the Chinese Em- 
pire after the war with Japan. 

1. Seizure of Kiao-chao Bay by the 

Germans. 

2. Lease of Port Arthur to Russia. 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 7 

3. Lease of Wei-hei-wei to the British 
Government, and the extension 
at Kowloon. 

4.. Italy's demand for Sanmen Bay. 

5. The extension of the foreign set- 
tlements. 

III. Introduction of railways, concessions 

to foreign syndicates, and the subsi- 
dizing of China by foreign capital. 

IV. Coup d'etat of the Empress Dowager, 

and beginning of the anti-foreign 
movement. 
V. Uprising of the " Boxers." 
VI. Missionary enterprise. 



Predisposing Causes 



! 



Predisposing Causes 

AS with the individual, so with the 
body politic. When disease occurs 
we may look for predisposing causes. 

i. One of the predisposing causes of the 
outbreak in China is, undoubtedly, the pov- 
erty of the masses. A large proportion 
of the Chinese people live on the ragged 
edge of starvation. This is especially 
true in the northern provinces, where the 
outbreaks have been most violent. This 
poverty of the masses is due to the den- 
sity of the population, the unequal distri- 
bution of wealth, ignorance as to the best 
means for the production of wealth, and 
failure to develop locked-up resources. 
In the districts bordering upon the Yellow 
River it is further caused by frequent 
inundations, widespread and destructive, 
the impetuous river often overflowing its 



12 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

banks. The Yellow River, known in China 
as " China's Sorrow," might be, as some one 
has said, more fitly called Chinas disgrace. 
These recurrent disasters could be pre- 
vented, but no determined effort has, as 
yet, been put forth by the authorities to 
eliminate this potent cause of poverty. 

The Chinese are, as a rule, a contented 
people. According to Mr. A. H. Smith, 
" to be happy is more than they expect, but 
they are willing to be as happy as they 
can." Grinding poverty must, however, 
have its effect, and prepare them to take 
part in any uprising which promises to 
better their condition and secure for them 
more of the comforts of life. 

2. When we add to poverty the long- 
continued tyrannical oppression of the 
people by their magistrates, we can see 
how the predisposing influences tending 
to the overthrow of the social equilibrium 
must needs be greatly strengthened. 

The Chinese theory of government is 
quite ideal, but, as Mr. A. R. Colquhoun 
remarks in " China in Transformation," it 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 13 

" exhibits the widest discrepancy of any 
known system between theory and practice, 
the purest ideal cloaking the grossest aims ; 
a terrible example, in fact, of corruptio 
optimi pessimal The "squeeze" system 
permeates everything, from the Emperor \y 
down to the Yamen underling. The govern- 
ment exists principally for the benefit of 
the governors, and the magistrate's only 
thought is how he may mulct the people 
for his own enrichment. 

China is generally regarded as a peaceful 
country, and yet, without exaggeration, it 
may be said there is hardly ever a time 
when a rebellion is not in progress in some 
part of the empire, and that all these rebel- 
lions are, in part, due to the rapacity and 
injustice of the ruling class. Whenever 
the misery of the people becomes unendur- 
able, and the officials are obstinate, local 
uprisings take place. There is no other 
means of redress except the "sacred right 
of rebellion." 

3. To these predisposing causes must be 
added a third — the innate spirit of exclusive- 



14 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

ness. The anti-foreign spirit is not a new 
development in China, but has existed from 
the time when China first came into rela- 
tions with European countries. A brief 
glance at history shows us how for thou- 
sands of years the Chinese never had inter- 
course with others than Asiatics. China 
was a terra incognita, shut off from the rest 
of the world, and what development it 
underwent was along its own peculiar lines. 
When a Westerner in China is called a 
foreign devil, it does not imply that the 
user of the expression has ransacked his 
vocabulary for some particularly oppro- 
brious term. He is calling the foreigner 
exactly what he considers him. The over- 
weening pride and arrogance of the China- 
man are his natal inheritance, and are as 
firmly rooted in his nature as any other 
national characteristic. It was an absolute 
impossibility for the Chinese to regard the 
British in any other light than that of sup- 
pliants begging a favor when, in 1840, they 
began to make their demands for commer- 
cial intercourse. Even as late as 1873, when 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 15 

the first imperial audience was granted to 
foreign representatives at the capital, it 
was arranged to hold the ceremony in 
the hall set apart for the reception of the 
envoys of tribute-bearing nations. The 
progress of events may have enlightened a 
few of the better-educated Chinese as to 
the civilization of the West, and the power 
and wealth of Western countries, but to 
the great mass of the people the foreigner 
still remains the barbarian, one to be hated 
and avoided. 

Whenever a good opportunity arises to 
give vent to his hatred the Chinaman is not 
slow to avail himself of it. Aside from the 
merchants engaged in commerce with for- 
eigners, the Chinese cannot perceive that 
their country has gained in the slightest 
degree from foreign intercourse. They 
attribute the origin of her calamities to her 
weakly yielding to the demands of the bar- 
barians from over the seas, 



Gradual Break-up of the 
Empire after the War 
with Japan 



Gradual Break-up of the 
Empire after the War 
with Japan 

THE disastrous defeats suffered by 
the Chinese in the war with Japan, 
and the entire collapse of their army and 
navy, came as a rude surprise to Western 
nations. Much had been written and said 
in regard to the potential energy of China, 
and it was expected that she would prove 
a doughty antagonist to self-confident Ja- 
pan. The result of the " pricking of the 
bubble " is what concerns us now. China's 
utter weakness was revealed to the world, 
and, as a consequence of this, a complete 
change of attitude was assumed by many 
of the Western Powers in their negotia- 
tions with the Court at Peking. " Where 
the carcass is there will the eagles be gath- 



i 



20 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

ered together." Up to the time of the war 
China had been treated with a certain 
amount of respect, and it was believed that 
diplomacy must win all that was wanted in 
the way of concessions. After the war the 
attitude of Western Powers became more 
and more aggressive, and it was realized 
that the threat of resorting to force could 
wring from her anything that was de- 
manded. By the treaty of peace signed 
between China and Japan on April 17, 
/ 1895, the Liaotung Peninsula (including 
Port Arthur), Formosa, and the Pescadores 
were ceded to Japan, and an indemnity of 
200,000,000 taels was exacted. China ap- 
pealed to Western nations to help her in 
her hour of need, and Russia, Germany, 
and France took upon themselves to play 
the role of disinterested friends (?). In 
consequence of the remonstrances of these 
three powers, the Japanese were restrained 
from their intention of annexing the Liao- 
tung Peninsula. From this date foreign 
aggression may be said to have begun. In 
return for her services Russia demanded 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 21 

the right of extending the Siberian railway 
through Manchuria to Vladivostok, with a 
branch line to Moukden and Port Arthur. 
France claimed the extension of the Ton- 
king railway into the Province of Kwang- 
si, and Germany demanded certain mining 
and financial privileges. 

We can hardly blame the foreign powers 
for their several exactions. China had 
steadily refused to advance along the lines 
of Western progress. To treat with her 
diplomatically had proved worse than use- 
less. Her utter impotence and her entire 
unwillingness to enter upon a course of re- 
form are largely responsible for the high- 
handed manner in which she has been 
treated. 

1. Seizure of Kiao-chao by Germany. 

The first step toward the partition of 
China by the alienation of her territory was 
the seizure of Kiao-chao by Germany. I 
must give a brief narration of the events 
leading up to it. On the first of Novem- 



/ 



22 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

ber, 1897, two German missionaries of the 
Roman Catholic Church, Franz Nies and 
Richard Heule, stationed in the southern 
part of the Province of Shantung, were 
murdered by a band of armed robbers. At 
that time, Li Ping-heng, a man of strong 
anti-foreign spirit, was viceroy of the prov- 
ince. He had closed his eyes to all hostile 
demonstrations of an anti-foreign nature, 
and was even suspected of having secretly 
encouraged them. Germany was swift in 
her demand for reparation, and the " mailed 
fist " came down with a heavy blow. Ger- 
man men-of-war were immediately de- 
spatched to Kiao-chao Bay, and the Chinese 
garrisons were driven out of the forts. A 
small body of men was landed on the coast, 
and remained there until a settlement was 
arrived at satisfactory to Germany. China 
was helpless to resist this invasion of 
only three ships and six hundred men. 
The German minister formulated his de- 
mands on the Tsungli Yamen under six 
heads : (1) 200,000 taels indemnity for 
the two German missionaries killed at Yen- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 23 

chao ; (2) the rebuilding of the chapel 
destroyed in the riot , (3) the payment 
of Germany's expenses incurred in the oc- 
cupation of Kiao-chao ; (4) Li Ping-heng, 
retiring Governor of Shantung, to be cash- 
iered and dismissed from the public ser- 
vice ; (5) the severest penalties upon the 
murderers of the German priests, and upon 
the local authorities where the riots had 
taken place ; (6) a, Germans to be given the 
sole right to open coal mines throughout 
Shantung Province ; 6 y special privileges to 
be granted Germans in the matter of rail- 
ways in the said province ; and c y Germany 
to be permitted to store coal at Kiao-chao 
in perpetuity." The result of the negotia- 
tions that followed was that Germany vir- 
tually obtained all her demands, and the 
permanent occupation of Kiao-chao began. 
The "North China Daily News" of De- 
cember 3, 1897, ominously remarks, "The 
action of the Germans in Shantung is 
obviously a prelude to the partition of 
China." 



24 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

2. The Lease of Port Arthur to 
Russia. 

Other powers were not slow in following 
in the footsteps of Germany. Russia de- 
manded a lease of Port Arthur and Talien- 
wan on the same terms as those granted to 
Germany at Kiao-chao. Russia's policy 
in the Far East has long been a subject 
of discussion. Her evident design is to 
wield a predominating influence in Man- 
churia and North China. Of this inten- 
tion, the extension of her railway system 
affords a most convincing proof. Shut out 
from becoming a great European power by 
her lack of seaports, she is planning to hold 
the balance of power in the East. To ac- 
complish this, the possession of an " ice- 
free " seaport open all the year round has 
become for her of prime importance. 

Speaking of Russian policy, Mr. T. R. 
Jernigan, ex-Consul-General to Shanghai, 
remarked as follows in the " Philadelphia 
Manufacturer " of April, 1898 : 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 25 

" The money Russia is preparing to 
spend to complete her contemplated rail- 
ways in China will not be expended with 
the expectation of immediate commercial 
returns, but as the means of a political and 
military conquest, thus securing advanta- 
geous positions for influencing and, if 
necessary, successfully attacking the two 
richest and most populous countries in 
Asia — important strategical positions being 
first acquired as chief factors in shifting 
the centre of gravity of the world's trade. 
The plan is comprehensive, if not all- 
embracing, and if executed will not only 
cause the centre of gravity of the world's 
trade but the worlds power to shift from 
West to East in acknowledgment of Rus- 
sian ascendency." 

In 1896 the terms of a secret treaty be- 
tween Russia and China were published, 
which had been negotiated by the astute 
Russian Minister, Count Cassini. This 
treaty granted to Russia Port Arthur, Ta- (/' 
lienwan, the extension of her railways in 



26 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

Manchuria, the guarding of these railways 
by Russian troops, and the erection of 
forts to protect the Siberian railway south 
of Vladivostok. In return Russia agreed 
to form an offensive and defensive alliance 
with China, and to lend her officers to drill 
her troops in Manchuria, Chihli, Shantung, 
Shansi, Shensi, and Kansu. 

At the time when this treaty was made 
public, it was received with great incredul- 
ity. Nowhere was it more " pooh-poohed " 
than in Great Britain. Events have proved 
that all along there has been a secret un- 
derstanding between China and Russia. 
Russian money has been used freely to in- 
fluence powerful Chinese officials, and there 
has never been any strong resistance to her 
encroachments. In March, 1898, when Rus- 
sia demanded the cession of Port Arthur 
and Talienwan, the Chinese Government 
readily complied, and made no pretence of 
striking a blow in defence of their territory. 

In Port Arthur Russia gained one of the 
strongest naval bases in the world, and an 
important step was taken toward the accom- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 27 

plishment of her scheme of Eastern aggran- 
dizement. 



3. Lease of Wei-hei-wei to the British 
Government. 

The policy of Great Britain in China for 
some time past has been lamentably weak. 
Although the first to throw open China to 
the trade of the world, she has done but 
little to press her advantage. To her great 
credit, it should be said that whatever 
commercial privileges she has gained for 
herself, she has been willing to share with 
others. Latterly, the chief bugbear of Great 
Britain has been the partition of China. 
Without any well-defined substitute, she has 
strenuously resisted this dreaded division 
of the empire. Her fear of Russia's ag- 
grandizement in the north is partly respon- 
sible for her determination to maintain 
China as "a going concern." Her policy 
has not been aggressive, and because she 
has continued to regard Chinese officials 
as men who were perfectly sincere in all 



j 



28 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

their undertakings, she has been hood- 
winked and befooled more than any other 
of the Great Powers. 

Mr. A. R. Colquhoun, in speaking of the 
policy of Great Britain toward China, char- 
acterizes it as " effeminate, invertebrate, 
and inconsequent Swayed by every wind 
from without or within, and in opposition 
to the judgment of her own experienced 
representatives, she has pursued a course 
which has, beyond doubt, led to the decline 
of British prestige in Asia." 

Great Britain could not, however, stand 
by, an idle spectator, and witness Germany 
and Russia obtain so strong a foothold in 
China. Consequently, she put forth her 
demand for the lease of Wei-hei-wei as 
soon as it was evacuated by Japan. China, 
as usual, was powerless to resist, and, mak- 
ing a virtue of necessity, granted a twenty- 
five years' lease of Wei-hei-wei to Great 
Britain in return for assistance in the pay- 
ment in full of the indemnity owing to Japan. 
On June 24, 1898, the British flag was raised. 
In addition to this concession, in 1899 the 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 29 

Chinese Government finally yielded to the 
claim of Great Britain for the extension of 
her territory on the mainland back of Hong- 
kong, and on April 16th the British flag 
was hoisted at Kowloon. \/ 

Before proceeding further, it were well 
to ask what has been the immediate effect 
of this gradual filching away of Chinese 
territory. It may be asserted most emphati- 
cally that it has tended to embitter the 
Chinese people more than ever agairst 
foreigners. The better informed of the 
officials realized China's weakness when 
they were forced to yield to these demands 
for cession of territory, but it was not so 
with the mass of the people. They still 
remained in the same dense ignorance. 
The news of China's reverses has always 
been softened down before it has been 
permitted to reach the ears of the populace. 
They continued to imagine that China 
possessed untold strength, and regarded 
those who entered into these various agree- 
ments as traitors to their country, acting 
from motives of self-interest. The chief 



j 



30 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

result of these concessions, so far as the 
Chinese people are concerned, has been to 
strengthen their inveterate hatred of the 
foreigner. 

That this is so is evidenced by the 
numerous cases of friction between the 
Chinese and the newcomers. The occu- 
pation of Kiao-chao affords an illustration. 
On January 24th a German sentry was 
killed at Chimo. The German officials took 
justice into their own hands, and had the 
murderer, a Chinese shopkeeper, publicly 
executed. Again, in March of 1899, we 
find serious disturbances occurring in Shan- 
tung. Some nine native Christians belong- 
ing to the Roman Catholic Church were 
put to death, two of them being burned 
alive. Three Germans — Lieutenant Han- 
neman, Mr. Forschulte, and Mr. Moots — 
happened to be passing through the dis- 
turbed region. They were set upon by a 
large mob, and for a long time were hard 
pressed. Being armed, they managed to 
defend themselves, killing many of the 
Chinese, and escaped with their lives to 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 31 

Ichoufu. By way of punishment for this 
assault, the Germans sent troops to occupy 
Ichoufu, and ordered that two native vil- 
lages should be burned to the ground. 
Whether this action were justifiable or not, 
there is no doubt that it still further in- 
creased the feeling of enmity toward the 
Germans in Shantung. 

The presence of the Russians in Man- 
churia has also been attended with much 
friction. The Russian soldiers have re- 
peatedly acted in a most high-handed man- 
ner, but, owing to the good understanding 
between Russia and China, all difficulties 
have been smoothed over, and most bar- 
barous outrages have been endured with- 
out protest. 

In the matter of the delineation of the 
boundaries of Wei-hei-wei, serious difficul- 
ties arose. The Chinese officials attempted 
to play their usual game of procrastination, 
and placed all possible obstacles in the way 
of a peaceful settlement. Inflammatory 
letters were circulated among the people, 
and they were incited to drive the British 



32 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 



from the mainland. A slight engagement 
took place between some native troops 
under British officers and Chinese soldiers, 
in which the latter were worsted. Then 
the Chinese, as usual, accepted the inevi- 
table, and the officials acquiesced in the 
original agreement. 

Owing, then, to these various occupa- 
tions by foreign powers, we observe a new 
vigor in the anti-foreign spirit. 

The people began to realize that the integ- 
rity of their country was threatened. The 
fear of the partition of China roused them 
as nothing ever did before, and the way 
was prepared for serious uprisings to throw 
off the yoke that they already felt restrain- 
ing and coercing their country. This spirit 
of resentment not only energized in the 
masses, but aroused the hardly less igno- 
rant Chinese officials ; and the people were 
constantly abetted by them, no determined 
effort being made by those in authority to 
nip in the bud the growing disturbances. 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 33 



(4) Italy's Demand for Sanmen Bay. 

This desperate resolve to withstand the 
further spoliation of Chinese territory mani- 
fested itself very clearly when Italy, follow- 
ing the example of the other powers, put in 
her claim, in the spring of 1899, for the 
cession of Sanmen Bay, in the Province of 
Che-kiang. To the great surprise of every / 
one, China strenuously resisted the de- 
mand. This change of attitude was largely 
due to the Empress Dowager being at the 
head of affairs. Of her and her policy we 
shall have much to say later. Every prep- 
aration was made to show that Italy could 
not obtain Sanmen Bay without engaging 
in war, and the matter concluded in the 
demand being withdrawn. This successful 
resistance on the part of China has had 
great weight in the recent policy of the 
empire. How easy it was to argue, by 
" showing a bold front, Italy was check- 
mated. All that is necessary, is to meet 

all attempts of a similar nature with strong 
3 



34 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

opposition, and they will not be pressed." 
China's old pride was much increased by 
her seeming success. 



(5) Extension of Foreign Settlements. 

The intention of foreign powers to 
tighten their hold upon China has also 
been shown by the demand for the exten- 
sion of the foreign settlements in Shanghai, 
Hankow, and Tientsin. 

In regard to Shanghai, from the point 
of view of foreign residents this extension 
was extremely necessary and greatly to 
be desired. When we consider, however, 
that the granting of additional land for the 
enlargement of the settlement meant vir- 
tually a grant of territory, we can see that 
the Chinese would naturally regard it un- 
favorably. To all intents and purposes 
the foreign settlement is a foreign conces- 
sion ; the only important authority the 
Chinese retain bein^ the ricdit to have 
a Chinese magistrate sit in judgment, with 
a foreign assessor by his side, on cases of 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 35 

breaches of the law by the Chinese living 
within the settlement. Although most 
unwillingly, the Chinese were at last com- 
pelled to yield to the repeated demands 
of the foreign ambassadors in Peking, and 
grant some ten square miles of additional 
territory. 

To sum up, then, the point I would 
make is that, from the Chinese standpoint, 
the ceding of Kiao-chao, the leasing of Port 
Arthur and of Wei-hei-wei, the extension of 
territory in Kowloon, and the enlargement 
of the foreign settlements, have all seemed 
acts of aggression. The people have never 
consented to them, and the officials have 
secretly been opposed to them. The spec- 
tacle of China being gradually hemmed in 
by foreign powers has made the Chinese 
realize that unless something could be done 
to stem the tide, the days of their empire 
as an integral and independent power 
were numbered. In this apprehension, 
and its consequent anti-foreign attitude, 
we have one very clear cause of the recent 
troubles. 



/ 

y 



Introduction of Railways, Con- 
cessions to Foreign Syndicates, 
The Subsidizing of China by 
Foreign Capital 



Introduction of Railways, Con- 
cessions to Foreign Syndicates, 
The Subsidizing of China by 
Foreign Capital 

CHINA has come to be regarded more 
and more lately as a great market for 
the over-production of the West, and as a 
great field for the employment of Western 
capital. The commercial nations of the 
world — the United States, England, and 
Germany — have entered into keen compe- 
tition with one another for the possession 
of this promising market. France is inter- 
ested in China principally from political 
motives, and Russia chiefly from terri- 
torial ; but they, too, are clamorous for 
their share of the expected profits. The 
picture of 400,000,000 of people with wants 



4 o THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

to be supplied has been, and will continue 
to be, most alluring. 

I will first speak of the field for the 
employment of capital in the construction 
of railways. Up to the present time China 
possesses only 317 miles of completed rail- 
ways. The foreign powers, realizing the 
greatness of the opportunity, have been 
vying with one another in their attempts 
to obtain concessions for the construction 
of a vast network of railways to cover the 
whole empire. Lord Charles Beresford, in 
" The Break-up of China," gives a state- 
ment of the railways that are building and 
of those projected, and the names of the 
powers obtaining the different concessions. 

In process of being constructed there 
are : 

(1) The Lu-Han or Peking-Hankow Rail- 
way, a trunk line of about 700 miles. This 
has been capitalized by Belgian and French 
financiers, and is to connect Peking with 
Hankow. (2) The Shanhaikwan-New- 
chwang Railway — 170 miles. This is to 
connect Shanhaikwan, where there are im- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 41 

portant coal fields, with Newchwang, and 
has been financed by a British corporation. 
The Russians, regarding Manchuria as their 
special sphere of influence, have unsuccess- 
fully tried to get this concession out of the 
hands of the British capitalists. (3) The 
Stretensk-Vladivostok line, of which 1,000 
miles are in Chinese territory. This con- 
cession to the Russian Government is of 
great strategic importance, and is rapidly 
nearing completion. (4) The Russian-Man- 
churian Railway. This is to connect the 
Stretensk-Vladivostok line with Talienwan 
and Port Arthur, and is also a concession 
to the Russian Government. 

The following is a list of the railways 
projected : 

(1) The Taiyuan Fu-Chengting Railway, 
130 miles, a branch line of the Peking- 
Hankow Railway. This concession has 
been granted to the Russo-Chinese Bank. 
(2) The Kiao-chao-Yichon-Tsinan Railway. 
It is a triangular railway in the Province of 
Shantung, and is entirely under the control 
of Germany. (3) The Tientsin-Chinkiang 



42 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

Railway. It is to run from north to south- 
east of the Peking-Hankow Railway, and is 
an Anglo-German line. (4) The Hankow- 
Canton Railway. This is to connect the 
Yangtze River with Canton. It is an ex- 
tremely valuable Anglo-American conces- 
sion. (5) The Peking Syndicate Railway. 
This is to tap the rich mines in the Prov- 
ince of Shansi, and to connect them with 
the city of Siangyang, on the Han River, a 
tributary of the Yangtze. (6) The Tonquin- 
Nanning Fu, the Langson-Nanning, and 
Pakhoi-Nanning railways, the contracts for 
which have all been signed by the French. 
(7) The Shanghai-Nanking Railway. This 
is to connect Nanking with the coast, and 
has been capitalized by the British. (8) The 
Soochow-Hangchow-Ningpo Railway. This 
is to connect these three important cities 
with Shanghai, and is also a British con- 
cession. (9) The Burma Extension Rail- 
way. This is to connect the Burmese Rail- 
way with the capital of the Province of 
Yunnan. 

I have given this long list in order to 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 43 

convey some idea of the strife between 
syndicates now taking place in China. 
What concerns us here is not the immense 
value the possession of a complete railway 
system will have for China, but the effect 
of the demands for these concessions upon 
the Chinese. 

Vast sums of money have been expended 
in the survey of these lines, but innumer- 
able obstacles delay their construction. If 
those in authority had really been in ear- 
nest in the matter, many of these railways 
would not, as they do now, exist only on 
paper. The Chinese officials have, for the 
most part, regarded these various offers of 
foreign capital as affording so many chances 
of playing off the mutual rivalries and ad- 
verse interests of the Western Powers who 
threaten China. 

These officials are astute enough to per- 
ceive that the more she employs foreign 
capital just so much the more China de- 
livers herself into the hands of her enemies, 
and diminishes her own liberty of action. 

In addition to the opposition, generally 



44 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

secret, of the officials themselves, we must 
bear in mind the resentment felt by the 
people at seeing their country cut up by 
railways. The story of the construction of 
the first railway in China — the short line 
from Shanghai to Wcosung — is too familiar 
to need repeating. Suffice it to say that 
the vast mass of the people living in the 
interior feel the same horror toward the 
railway as the villagers around Shanghai 
evinced in 1877. 

The superstition most deeply rooted in 
the mind of the Chinese is. that of fengshui. 
The good or bad luck of any situation 
depends upon the favorable influence of 
the wind and water. Anything violently 
disturbing this influence is, according to 
their reasoning, sure to lead to disaster. 
The railway is bound to effect such a dis- 
turbance. Mountains must be tunnelled, 
rivers spanned, hills levelled, and depres- 
sions elevated. In addition to thus affect- 
ing the influence of the wind and water, 
the railway is responsible for the no less 
serious calamities resulting from the viola- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 45 

tion of ancestral graves. The railway, which 
must take the shortest and straightest cut 
possible to its destination, can pay but 
little heed to the grave-mounds dotted all 
over the country. 

As an illustration of how the people re- 
gard the introduction of railways, we need 
only remember that every party of foreign 
surveyors which has been engaged in China, 
in the interior of the country, has had to be 
protected by a strong force of soldiers in 
order that it may successfully conduct its 
operations. General Parsons, in his survey 
of the Hankow-Canton Railway, met with 
little opposition ; but the officials saw to it 
that he was well protected. Captain Pot- 
tinger, in his survey connected with the 
Yunnan Railway Commission, did not 
come off so easily, but met with determined 
opposition — in fact, he had to fight his way 
through a part of the Province of Szechuen. 
In other words, the people of China do not 
want the railway, and the persistent effort 
to construct it strengthens their anti-foreign 
sentiment. 



46 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

We must also bear in mind that, in addi- 
tion to railway syndicates, China has been 
flooded with mining syndicates and com- 
mercial commissions. The altruistic spirit 
of these commercial pioneers is not very 
apparent to the Chinese. We know that it 
will be advantageous for China to have her 
mines opened, but the Chinese, partly from 
superstitious reasons, and partly from their 
innate conservatism, do not believe so, and 
especially object to its being done by 
foreign capital. 

I think then, if we look facts fairly in the 
face, and try by an act of imagination to 
see things from the ignorant Chinaman's 
point of view, we can understand how this 
great influx of foreign capitalists into China 
has exerted a most disturbing influence upon 
the mind of the people, and has thus also 
been one of the causes leading up to the 
recent outbreak. 



Coup d'Etat of the Empress Dow- 
ager, and the Beginning of the 
Anti-Foreign Movement 



Coup d'Etat of the Empress Dow- 
ager, and the Beginning of the 
Anti-Foreign Movement 

I MUST briefly review the events which 
paved the way for the now famous 
coup d'etat. In the spring of 1898, when the 
ship of state seemed slowly but surely drift- 
ing toward destruction, a reform movement 
began to make itself felt in China. The 
Emperor Kwang Hsu was greatly influenced V 
by a band of young officials full of schemes 
for the reformation of the empire. Their 
leader was Kang Yii-wei, a man of un- 
doubted ability and strong personality. 
The Emperor bent himself in earnest to 
the task of carrying out the reforms sug- 
gested by these ardent and radical patriots. 
On July 19, 1898, an edict was issued in 

regard to new methods to be employed in 
4 



50 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

the examinations of scholars throughout 
the empire. When we remember that the 
primary condition of official employment 
in China is the passing successfully of the 
imperial literary examinations, we can well 
see what far-reaching consequences this 
reform would have. Instead of confining 
the examinations to a knowledge of the 
Chinese classics, and to the writing of Wen- 
chang (essays in a stilted style) upon texts 
selected therefrom, there was to be required 
"a knowledge of ancient and modern his- 
tory, and information in regard to the pres- 
ent-day state of affairs, with special refer- 
ence to the governments and institutions 
of the countries of the five great continents, 
and on the arts and sciences thereof." 

The W&nchang was to be discarded 
entirely. 

In a postscript to the above-noted de- 
cree his Majesty remarks that " without 
doubt fine and beautifully executed pen- 
manship is a good thing, but it is useless 
for practical purposes. Hence, in future ex- 
aminations, no weight is to be given to fine 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 51 

penmanship in essays, which, in former ex- 
aminations, used to go so long a way toward 
assisting a candidate to obtain his degrees. 
But not to throw it wholly into disuse, 
promise is made to those who have fine pen- 
manship that when such is required a special 
edict will be issued for an examination of fine 
calligraphists to fill certain posts in the gov- 
ernment requiring this accomplishment." 

The effect of this edict, if carried out, 
would be to raise up in China a body of 
officials competent to understand, and cope 
with, questions of the day, to supplant 
the present incumbents, whose knowledge 
and sympathy are limited to the ages of 
antiquity. 

Among other reforms proposed were 
the following: (1) A complete reorgani- 
zation of the government; new boards 
being established, and those that were use- 
less abolished. (2) The establishment of 
colleges and technical schools for the ad- 
vancement of scientific knowledge, after 
the most approved methods of Western 
nations. (3) The right to memorialize the 



52 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

throne directly was to be conferred upon 
all officials throughout the empire, with- 
out distinction of rank. One reformer was 
even bold enough to suggest that "the 
Emperor and the whole country abolish 
the queue and present Chinese dress for 
the fashions of the West ! Another, that 
the country embrace the Christian religion 
as the state religion, and still another ad- 
vised his Majesty to take the Empress Dow- 
ager on a visit to the Japanese Mikado, in 
order to see for themselves the pitiful state 
of China as compared with Japan, which 
had thrown away the obsolete customs of a 
bygone age and adopted everything West- 
ern. An education of the eyes, by such 
a trip, is worth a hundred thousand sugges- 
tions on paper." 

The effect of these suggestions and re- 
forms was startling. It was at once dis- 
closed that there were many in the empire 
who were heartily in favor of them. In an 
editorial in the " North China Daily News," 
of September i, 1898, we read : 

"One hopeful sign is reported by our 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 53 

correspondents in the interior — the readi- 
ness with which the decree has been 
accepted doing away with the writing of 
essays, Wenchang, as the great test of 
scholarship and fitness for official employ- 
ment. Seriously as this change affects a 
vast number of teachers and scholars, it 
has been accepted as reasonable and neces- 
sary. Hundreds of thousands of aspirants 
for office all over the empire are putting 
aside the classics and trying to get a smat- 
tering of Western knowledge, with which 
they may confound examiners more igno- 
rant than themselves ; everywhere the pro- 
vincial officials are being bullied into the 
establishment of schools and colleges for 
the inculcation of Western learning ; and 
the most bigoted mandarin who values his 
position and prospects of promotion is turn- 
ing to the formerly despised missionaries 
for advice and assistance." 

As may easily be imagined, the old con- 
servative officials of Peking, and the Empress \ 
Dowager, regarded all these innovations 
with consternation and distrust. The last 



54 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

straw to break the earners back came when 
the Emperor removed from public service 
two presidents and four vice-presidents of 
the Board of Rites for refusing to present 
to him, unopened, the memorial of a re- 
former named Wang Chau, and dismissed 
Li Hung Chang, as being a reactionary, 
from the Tsungli Yamen. 

The immediate cause of the coup d'etat 
was the discovery of a plot to remove the 
Empress Dowager to a place of confine- 
ment, so that she might be powerless to 
hinder the new regime. It is generally sup- 
posed that Kang Yu-wei suggested to the 
Emperor that, if he would render his own 
position secure, he must retire the Em- 
press Dowager, and also decapitate Yung 
Lu, her henchman, who was in command of 
all the Northern military and naval forces. 
To effect this latter step, secret instruc- 
tions were given to Yuan Shih-kai, the 
present Governor of Shantung Province, 
to repair to Tientsin, where Yung Lu was, 
and to behead him immediately. Up to 
this time Yuan Shih-kai had been posing 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 55 

as a reformer ; but, after receiving his in- 
structions, he turned traitor to the Em- 
peror. Instead of taking the life of Yung 
Lu, he informed him of the Emperor's 
command, and then, in company with him, 
moved a large force of men to Peking to 
support the Empress Dowager. Upon their 
arrival at the capital, the Emperor was de- 
posed. The deposition was accomplished 
so suddenly that the reform party was 
entirely taken unawares. The first explana- 
tion of the coup d'etat to reach the world 
was contained in the Emperors imperial 
decree of September 22, 1898. We quote 
in full : 

"Peking, 22d September. 

" At the present moment, when our em- 
pire is undergoing a most important crisis, 
filled with the heaviest responsibility and 
difficulties to us, and the internal govern- 
ment of the country, for the benefit of the 
masses, demands our closest attention, there 
may have been matters of high importance 
which, in spite of our earnestly and dili- 



56 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

gently laboring day and night at our work, 
may, among the myriads of matters requir- 
ing our decision, slip from our notice, to 
the general detriment. That is what now 
fills us with apprehension. Now, her Im- 
perial Majesty the Empress Dowager, Tze 
Hsi, since the first years of the reign of the 
late Emperor Tung Chih down to our pres- 
ent reign, has twice ably filled the regency of 
the empire, and never did her Majesty fail in 
happily bringing to a successful issue even 
the most difficult problems of government. 
In all things we have ever placed the in- 
terests of our empire before those of others, 
and, looking back at her Majesty's success- 
ful handiwork, we are now led to beseech, 
for a third time, for this assistance from 
her Imperial Majesty, so that we may 
benefit from her wise and kindly advice in 
all matters of State. Having now obtained 
her Majesty's gracious consent, we truly 
consider this to be a great boon both to 
ourselves as well as to the people of our 
empire. Hence we now command that from 
henceforth, commencing with this morning, 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 57 

the affairs of State shall be transacted in 
the ordinary Throne Hall, and that to- 
morrow (23d) we shall, at the head of the 
Princes and Nobles and Ministers of our 
Court, attend in full dress in the Ching- 
cheng Throne Hall, to pay ceremonial 
obeisances to her Imperial Majesty the 
Empress Dowager. Let the Board of Rites 
draw up for our perusal the ceremonies to 
be observed on the above occasion." 

Then began a reign of terror. All con- 
nected in any way with the reform move- 
ment were seized, and banished or decapi- 
tated. Kang Yu-wei was able to make 
his escape to Shanghai on a British man- 
of-war, and from there fled to Japan. 

It was also announced that the Emperor 
was ill, and unable to hold the reins of gov- 
ernment ; but this, of course, was merely a 
ruse to throw dust in the eyes of the for- 
eign ministers resident in Peking. 

The Empress Dowager proceeded to sur- 
round herself with Manchu officials of the 
most anti-foreign and conservative type. 
Yung Lu was retained in Peking as the 



58 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

head of all the forces of the Province of 
Chihli and the Northern Squadron. A 
decree, dated September 26, 1898, was pro- 
mulgated, abolishing in ioto all the reforms 
that had been attempted by the Emperor. 
It purported to come from the Emperor 
himself. Speaking of the abolition of use- 
less Yamens, the decree goes on to say : 

" Our real desire was to make away with 
superfluous posts for the sake of economy ; 
whereas, on the contrary, we find rumors 
flying abroad that we intended to change 
wholesale the customs of our empire, and, 
in consequence, innumerable impossible 
suggestions of reform have been presented 
to us. If we allowed this to go on, none of 
us would know to what pass matters would 
come. Hence, unless we hasten to put our 
present wishes clearly before all, we greatly 
fear that Yamen petty officials and under- 
lings will put their own construction on 
what commands have gone before, and cre- 
ate a ferment in the midst of the usual 
calm of the people. This will indeed be 
contrary to our desire, and put our re- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 59 

forms for strengthening and enriching our 
empire to naught. 

" We therefore hereby command that the 
Supervisorate of Instruction and other five 
minor Courts and Boards, which were re- 
cently abolished by us and their duties 
amalgamated with other Boards for the 
sake of economy, etc., be forthwith restored 
to their original state and duties, because 
we have learned that the process of amal- 
gamation contains many difficulties and will 
require too much labon We think, there- 
fore, it is best that these offices be not 
abolished at all, there being no actual ne- 
cessity for doing this. As for the provin- 
cial bureaus and official posts ordered to be 
abolished, the work in this connection may 
go on as usual, and the viceroys and gov- 
ernors are exhorted to work earnestly and 
diligently in the above duty. Again, as to 
the edict ordering the establishment of an 
official newspaper, the " Chinese Progress," 
and the privilege granted to all scholars 
and commoners to memorialize us on re- 
forms, etc., this was issued in order that a 



60 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

way might be opened by which we could 
come into touch with our subjects, high and 
low. But as we have also given extra 
liberty to our censors and high officers to 
report to us on all matters pertaining to 
the people and their government, any re- 
forms necessary; suggested by these officers, 
will be attended to at once by us. Hence 
we consider that our former edict allowing 
all persons to report to us is, for obvious 
reasons, superfluous, with the present legit- 
imate machinery at hand. And we now 
command that the privilege be withdrawn, 
and only the proper officers be permitted 
to report to us as to what is going on in 
our empire. As for the newspaper, " Chinese 
Progress," it is really of no use to the gov- 
ernment, while, on the other hand, it will 
excite the masses to evil ; hence we com- 
mand the said paper to be suppressed 
(abolished). 

" With regard to the proposed Peking 
University and the middle schools in the 
provincial capitals, they may go on as usual, 
as they are a nursery for the perfection of 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 61 

true ability and talents. But with reference 
to the lower schools in the sub-prefectures 
and districts there need be no compulsion, 
full liberty being given to the people thereof 
to do what they please in this connection. 
As for the unofficial Buddhist, Taoist, and 
memorial temples which were ordered to 
be turned into district schools, etc., so long 
as these institutions have not broken the 
laws by any improper conduct of the in- 
mates, or the deities worshipped in them 
are not of the seditious kind, they are hereby 
excused from the edict above noted. At the 
present moment, when the country is under- 
going a crisis of danger and difficulty, we 
must be careful of what may be done, or 
what may not, and select only such meas- 
ures as may be really of benefit to the 
empire." 

A decree, dated September 29, 1898, also 
purporting to come from the Emperor, ex- 
hibits his complete subjection to the Em- 
press Dowager : 

" All know that we try to rule this empire 
by our filial piety toward the Empress 



62 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

Dowager ; but Kang Yii-wei's doctrines have 
always been opposed to the ancient Con- 
fucian tenets. Owing, however, to the 
ability shown by the said Kang Yii-wei in 
modern and practical matters, we sought to 
take advantage of it by appointing him a 
Secretary of the Tsungli Yamen, and sub- 
sequently ordered him to Shanghai to direct 
the management of the official newspaper 
there. Instead of this, however, he dared 
still to remain in Peking pursuing his ne- 
farious designs against the dynasty, and had 
it not been for the protection given by the 
spirits of our ancestors he certainly would 
have succeeded. Kang Yii-wei is therefore 
the arch conspirator, and his chief assistant 
is the M. A. Liang Chi-tsao, and they are 
both to be immediately arrested and pun- 
ished for the crime of rebellion. The other 
principal conspirators, namely, the Censor 
Yang Shen-hsiu, the brother of Kang Yii-wei 
— Kang Kuang-jen — and the four Tsungli 
Yamen secretaries, Tan Sze-tung, Lin Hsio, 
Yang Jui, and Liu Kuang-ti, we immediately 
ordered to be arrested and imprisoned by 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 63 

the Board of Punishments ; but fearing that 
if any delay ensued in sentencing them they 
would endeavor to entangle a number of 
others, we accordingly commanded yester- 
day (28th September) their immediate exe- 
cution, so as to close the matter entirely 
and prevent further troubles." 

Thus was this great reform movement 
crushed in its cradle. The pity of it all is 
that our foreign representatives at Peking 
were so blind in the whole matter. They 
regarded it merely as a " family quarrel " in 
an Eastern Imperial Court, and felt that it 
was no concern of theirs. With the excep- 
tion of the British Government conniving 
at the escape of Kang Yu-wei, not a hand 
was raised to help the Emperor in his hour 
of direst necessity. 

If ever there were a time when interfer- 
ence was justifiable it was just at this crisis ; 
but the golden opportunity was allowed to 
slip through the fingers. Patriotic reform- 
ers were put to death without any protest 
being offered, and this band of devoted 
young men were " pooh-poohed" at as vision- 



64 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

aries, who would have ruined their country 
if permitted to carry out their schemes. 

Little was it thought that this anti-reform 
crusade of the Empress Dowager was a 
prelude to the present anti-foreign outbreak. 
Yet so it has proved itself to be. No sooner 
had the Empress Dowager seated herself 
firmly upon the throne, than there occurred 
a remarkable change in the spirit of her 
dreams. Always anti-foreign in her procliv- 
ities, she began to make ready for the pres- 
ent outbreak. Great military preparations 
were in evidence, and an unusual activity 
was to be perceived in the arsenals through- 
out the empire. Troops were massed about 
the capital, Tung Fu-hsiang being com- 
manded to lead his Kansu troops to Peking. 
Every one wondered what it all meant, 
and thought that perhaps China had really 
determined to try an issue with Russia, 
and free herself from the hated domina- 
tion of the Slav. The ministers at Peking 
never dreamed that it was part of a deeply 
laid plot "to drive foreigners into the Yel- 
low Sea." We have already remarked on 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 65 

the successful resistance of the Empress 
Dowager to Italy's demand forSanmen Bay. 

The Empress Dowager showed her hand 
plainly in the secret edict dated November 
21, 1899, and sent to her viceroys, gover- 
nors, Tartar generals, and provincial com- 
manders-in-chief. The edict has recently 
come to light, and we here quote it in full : 

" Our empire is now laboring under great 
difficulties which are becoming daily more 
serious. The various Powers cast upon us 
looks of tiger-like voracity, hustling each 
other in their endeavors to be the first to 
seize upon our innermost territories. They 
think that China, having neither money nor 
troops, would never venture to go to war 
with them. They fail to understand, how- 
ever, that there are certain things which 
this empire can never consent to, and that, 
if hardly pressed upon, we have no alterna- 
tive but to rely upon the justice of our 
cause, the knowledge of which in our 
breasts strengthens our resolves and steels 
us to present a united front against our 

aggressors. No one can guarantee, under 

5 



66 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

such circumstances, who will be the victor 
and who the conquered in the end. But 
there is an evil habit which has become 
almost a custom among our viceroys and 
governors which, however, must be eradi- 
cated at all costs. For instance, when- 
ever these high officials have had on their 
hands cases of international dispute, all 
their actions seem to be guided by the 
belief in their breasts that such cases would 
eventually be ' amicably arranged/ These 
words seem never to be out of their 
thoughts ; hence, when matters do come 
to a crisis, they, of course, find themselves 
utterly unprepared to resist any hostile ag- 
gressions on the part of the foreigner. We, 
indeed, consider this the most serious fail- 
ure in the duty which the high provincial 
authorities owe to the Throne, and we now 
find it incumbent upon ourselves to censure 
such conduct in the most severe terms. 

" It is our special command, therefore, 
that should any high official find himself so 
hard pressed by circumstances that nothing 
short of a war would settle matters, he is 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 67 

expected to set himself resolutely to work 
out his duty to this end. Or, perhaps, it 
would be that war has already actually been 
declared ; under such circumstances there 
is no possible chance of the Imperial Gov- 
ernment consenting to an immediate con- 
ference for the restoration of peace. It 
behooves, therefore, that our viceroys, gov- 
ernors, and commanders-in-chief through- 
out the whole empire unite forces and act 
together without distinction or particulariz- 
ing of jurisdictions so as to present a com- 
bined front to the enemy, exhorting and 
encouraging their officers and soldiers in 
person to fight for the preservation of their 
homes and native soil from the encroaching 
footsteps of the foreign aggressor. Never 
should the word ' Peace ' fall from the 
mouths of our high officials, nor should 
they even allow it to rest for a moment 
within their breasts. With such a country 
as ours, with her vast area, stretching out 
several tens of thousands of It, her im- 
mense natural resources, and her hundreds 
of millions of inhabitants, if only each and 



68 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

all of you would prove his loyalty to his 
Emperor and love of country, what, indeed, 
is there to fear from any invader ? Let no 
one think of making peace, but let each 
strive to preserve from destruction and 
spoliation his ancestral home and graves 
from the ruthless hands of the invader." 

It is to the last sentence that we would 
especially call attention. Do not these 
words throw down the gauntlet? — "Let no 
one think of making peace \ but let each strive 
to preserve from destruction and spoliation 
his ancestral home and graves from the 
ruthless hands of the invader." 

At the Empress Dowager's command a 
circular was issued by the Tsungli Yamen 
to the viceroys and governors, with the 
object of further impressing upon them the 
need of firmness in resisting the demands 
of foreigners. The most important clause 
of this document reads as follows : 

"This Yamen has received the special 
commands of her Imperial Majesty the 
Empress Dowager, and his Imperial Maj- 
esty the Emperor, to grant you full power 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 69 

and liberty to resist by force of arms all 
aggressions upon your several jurisdictions, 
proclaiming a state of war, if necessary, 
without first asking for instructions from 
Peking ; for this loss of time may be fatal 
to your security, and enable the enemy to 
make good his footing against your forces." 

The circulation of these decrees caused a 
wave of patriotic excitement to overspread 
the empire. They acted as an incentive 
to defiance, and so immensely increased 
the anti-foreign spirit. 

The anti-foreign policy of the Empress 
Dowager was still further shown by her 
appointment of the most pronounced anti- 
foreign mandarins to posts of commanding 
influence. The office of Li Ping-heng, Vice- 
roy of Shantung, deposed after the murder 
of the German missionaries, according to 
the agreement with Germany, was filled by 
a man equally opposed to foreigners and 
their interests — Yu Hsien — during whose 
administration the recent outrages in the 
province commenced. Li Ping-heng himself 
was restored to power by the Empress 



70 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

Dowager, and made Imperial High Com- 
missioner and Generalissimo of the forces 
of the Yangtze. Li Hung Chang, one of 
the Empress Dowager s great favorites, was 
reinstated, and, after a time, appointed Vice- 
roy of Canton. 

Another important step taken by the 
Empress Dowager, in preparation for the 
uprising, was the appointment, on June 15, 
1899, of Kang Yi, "an utterly ignorant old 
Bourbon," to inspect the fortifications and 
garrisons of the empire and to raise a large 
sum of money for the depleted imperial 
treasury. Kang Yi, in his visits to the 
Southern provinces, successfully accom- 
plished his mission as " Lord High Extor- 
tioner," and collected two million taels for 
his mistress. This sum was undoubtedly 
expended in warlike preparations — in the 
purchase of guns and ammunition. 

Still another effort of the Empress Dow- 
ager was her coquetting with Japan. Two 
commissioners were despatched to Japan 
for the purpose of forming an offensive 
and defensive alliance with the Island Em- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 71 

pire. Her plan was to unite the yellow 
man in a crusade against the white man. 
Owing to the two commissioners revealing 
too much of what was intended to be kept 
secret, they were recalled in disgrace, and 
the proposed treaty came to nothing. These 
plans of the Empress Dowager were un- 
doubtedly somewhat hampered by factions 
within the empire. Prince Ching, a mem- 
ber of the royal family, was the head of 
one powerful faction, and Yung Lu of 
another. Between these two men the 
greatest jealousy existed, and more than 
once civil war between the two parties was 
threatened. 

The last act in the drama of the usurpa- 
tion of the imperial power by the Empress 
Dowager, was her attempt, in January of 
this year, to rid herself entirely of the de- 
posed Emperor Kwang Hsu, and to place 
a puppet of her own upon the throne. 
Kwang Hsu really owed his throne to his 
imperial aunt, for he was not the legitimate 
successor of the preceding Emperor, Tung 
Chih. He was raised to the throne because, 



72 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

owing to his youth, the Empress Dowager, 
as Regent, would continue at the head of 
the State. Although her protege, she must 
have felt, when he began his reform meas- 
ures, that she had warmed a viper in her 
bosom. Having no further use for him, 
by the coup d'etat she usurped his power ; 
but his presence at the capital was a per- 
petual source of danger, as he would al- 
ways remain a rallying centre for the reform 
element in the empire. Accordingly, on Jan- 
uary 31, 1900 — Chinese New Year — it was 
announced that Kwang Hsu had abdicated, 
and that the son of Prince Tuan, a child 
named Pu Chun, was about to ascend the 
Dragon Throne. This news came like a 
clap of thunder. All the smouldering brands 
of the reform party were fanned once more 
into a blaze. 

The design of the Empress Dowager was 
evident ; namely, to make away with Kwang 
Hsu, and, by placing a child upon the throne, 
to perpetuate indefinitely the present anti- 
reform regime. Protests came from all over 
the empire. Even the representatives of 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 73 

the Western Powers were stirred to oppose 
this crowning act of usurpation. The fol- 
lowing loyal telegram was sent by the Man- 
ager of the Imperial Chinese Telegraphs 
and 1,230 other signatories to the princes 
and ministers of the Tsungli Yamen : 

" When we received the edict of the 24th 
instant, in which the Emperor proposed to 
abdicate on account of illness, we were 
amazed, and the mandarins, gentry, and 
merchants from all the provinces residing 
in Shanghai became full of anxiety, and dis- 
cussed the matter everywhere in the streets. 
We, therefore, wire to you to beg of you to 
be loyal and faithful, and, on behalf of the 
nation, to implore the Emperor not to think 
of abdicating, though he should be unwell, 
so that the Empress Dowager, at her ad- 
vanced age, may not have the extra burden 
of ruling a distracted empire, and so that 
the spirits of our ancestors may be at rest 
and the people live in peace. 

11 Signed by King Lien-shan, prefect, and 
by 1,231 in all. 

" 1 2th moon, 26th day." 



74 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

The Empress Dowager was infuriated on 
the receipt of this telegram, and indignant, 
also, at the opposition shown by foreigners 
to the accomplishment of her scheme. 

A reign of terror was at once instituted. 
Orders were given for the arrest of King 
Lien-shan, and he was pursued to Macao, 
whither he had fled, and taken prisoner. 
Charges of peculation were trumped up 
against him, and, were it not for the inter- 
vention of foreigners, he would long ago 
have been executed. Other reformers were 
ruthlessly hunted down, and an attempt was 
made to extirpate them from the empire. 

The opposition displayed had, however, 
the effect of inducing the Empress Dow- 
ager to alter her plan so far that Pu Chun 
was declared heir-apparent, instead of being 
proclaimed Emperor, and Kwang Hsu, in 
close captivity, was allowed to live. 

I have traced in detail the steps lead- 
ing up to the coup d'etat and the events im- 
mediately following. My purpose, in so 
doing, has been to make apparent the re- 
sponsibility of the Empress Dowager for 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 75 

the present state of affairs. Before I pro- i/ 

ceeded to discuss the "Boxer" movement, 
I wished to make it clear that all along 
the Empress Dowager herself has been 
the leader in the anti-reform and the anti- 
foreign propaganda. She is the evil genius 
animating the whole movement. All that 
has been done has been in accord with her 
will and inspired by her spirit. 

How any sane man, and especially one 
who has lived in Peking as the United States 
Minister, could have the temerity to draw 
a comparison between the Empress Dow- 
ager and Queen Victoria, remains beyond 
our comprehension ; and yet we find Colo- 
nel Denby, in a recent article, giving utter- 
ance to so astounding a flattery. It is 
almost the worst case of myopia of which 
there is any record. 

The bigoted, blind, relentless anti-foreign 
spirit of the Empress Dowager, although 
not the only, is, perhaps, the chief cause 
of the present outbreak in China. 



Uprising of the " Boxers " 



Uprising of the " Boxers " 

CHINA is, par excellence, a country 
11 honey-combed with secret socie- 
ties." The names of some of these have 
become familiar in the West, such as the 
11 High Binders " and the " Triad Society." 
Many of them date back to the founding 
of the present Manchu dynasty — the Ta 
Ching — and originally had as their chief 
object the restoration of the Ming dynasty, 
and the extermination of the Manchus. 

In process of time the original aim of 
these societies has been lost sight of, and 
some have degenerated into "mere tools 
of private schemers or the hobbies of busy- 
bodies and agitators." There is a sort of 
freemasonry among the members of these 
societies, and they possess a regular form 
of ritual. In time of trouble, their complete 



80 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

organization renders it easy for them to 
foment disorder and incite to rebellion. 

The secret societies that have been most 
prominent in China during the past few 
years are the Ko-lao Hui y the " Great and 
Little Second Societies," and the / Ho 
Chiian, or, as it is popularly called, the 
"Boxers." 

As soon as the Empress Dowager had 
usurped the throne, these societies, taking 
their cue from her and her advisers, imme- 
diately began to create disturbances. The 
leaders knew that she secretly sympathized 
with their projects, and that no great force 
would be exerted against them. They took 
as their motto the words, " Protect the 
Ching dynasty ; exterminate the foreign- 
ers," and thus, strangely enough, societies 
which originally had as their main object 
the expulsion of the Manchus became the 
ardent supporters of the reigning dynasty, 
and were ready to abet the Empress Dow- 
ager in her most cherished scheme of ex- 
pelling the foreigner. 

The I Ho Chuan, or the " Righteous Har- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 81 

mony Fists," familiarly called the " Boxers," 
ofigmated in Shantung. Their name prob- 
ably indicates that they have consecrated 
their strength and resources, as true patriots, 
to the cause of harmony in China. 

They began their crusade in the autumn 
of 1899. Everywhere there was drilling 
and the enlisting of fresh recruits. Their 
method of warfare is peculiar ; they rely 
for the preservation of their lives in battle 
upon charms and incantations. They are 
armed, for the most part, with swords and 
spears, and but very few possess modern 
weapons. They believe that their charms 
and incantations render them absolutely 
invulnerable to foreign bullets, and so are 
ready to advance against the enemy with 
the utmost intrepidity. In fact, their fanati- 
cal spirit is what chiefly characterizes them. 
They began their depredations by burning 
and looting the houses of native Christians 
throughout the provinces of Shantung and 
Chihli. Emboldened by the little opposi- 
tion they experienced from the officials, they 
next proceeded to attack the Christians 

6 



82 THE OUTBREAK IX CHINA 

themselves. Their enmity to native Chris- 
tians — Roman Catholic and Protestant alike 
— is owing to the fact that thev regard them 
as having gone over to the side of the for- 
eigner. Native Christians are often re- 
ferred to bv the " Boxers" as second-grade 
foreigners. 

When the disturbances first occurred, Yu 
Hsien was Viceroy of Shantung, and, al- 
though appealed to again and again by the 
missionaries throughout the province to 
give adequate protection to Christian con- 
verts, he remained wholly indifferent to their 
petitions. A force of soldiers despatched 
against the Boxers, led by Yuan Shih-tun, 
brother of Yuan Shih-kai, was reported to 
have won a victory ; but the " Boxers n were 
only scattered, to assemble in another district. 

The correspondent of the " North China 
Daily News." writing from Northwest Shan- 
tung in December, 1S99, draws attention 
to the utter supineness of the Chinese 
Government in dealing with the growing 
disorder, and shows how hopeless the con- 
dition of affairs was becoming : 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA >: 

"Meantime the resident foreigners have 
been by no means idle, but have bombarded 
the Tientsin consul with telegrams, and 
have telegraphed and written to the pro- 
vincial capital to get their friends there to 
bring some pressure to bear on the gover- 
nor through the so-called Foreign Bureau 
{Yang Wu Chit), which is supposed to have 
to do with matters in which foreigners are 
concerned. This office now informs us that 
we may * rest our hearts,' as orders have 
been issued to the local magistrates to ' pro- 
tect ' the foreigners, when it is well known 
that, whatever the disposition of those offi- 
cials, thev have no force at command to an- 
tagonize the tens of thousands, or perhaps 
hundreds of thousands, who belong to the 
Boxer fraternity, and when the government 
forces are ordered to do nothing, but serve 
as figureheads. All that any consul can do 
under these conditions is to communicate 
with the Governor-General of Chihli (if 
in that province), or with the Governor of 
Shantung direct Each of these high offi- 
cers acknowledges the receipt of the com- 



84 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

munication, and promises to attend to it, 
which is then accomplished in the manner 
hereinbefore fully described. It is impos- 
sible to say at what point these volcanic 
forces will make their next eruption or 
what damage they may do. 

11 Nothing now seems more certain than 
that the Chinese authorities either cannot, 
or will not, govern this province, not to 
speak of those which are adjacent. If there 
are any foreign governments, German or 
other, in a position to extend their ' spheres 
of influence ' to Shantung, the change will 
be welcomed with joy by a large part of 
the native population, and by the now 
numerous foreigners en masse" 

The editor of the " North China Daily 
News," in the issue of the same date, De- 
cember 5, 1899, in an editorial entitled "A 
Threatened Conflagration in the North," 
indulged in a prophecy which, alas ! has 
only been too fully realized. He says : 

" We desire to emphasize the affirmation 
that unless the career of the I Ho Chilan 
and its affiliated societies is speedily checked, 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 85 

we are likely to have the lawless conditions 
of Sze-chuan during the reign of Yii Mantze 
repeated, with variations, and with possible 
serious loss of foreign lives which ought to 
be protected. The / Ho Chuan is a pro- 
fessedly patriotic organization, the object 
of which is to help the government to 
do what it cannot do alone. Some of its 
leaders may be sincere in this purpose, but 
this only makes them the more dangerous. 
Such a movement inevitably and speedily 
gathers to itself all the lewd fellows of the 
baser sort, always thirsting for opportuni- 
ties for free food, and especially for plunder 
and pillage. There is but one method of 
successfully dealing with such risings, which 
is that applied to conflagrations — to put 
them out before they have made headway ; 
for otherwise there comes a time when no 
power can restrain the tremendous forces 
thus liberated for mischief." 

The only observers who still remained 
blind to the possibility of an explosion were 
the foreign ministers. They seem to have 
been dazzled by the glamour of an Oriental 



86 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

court, and have never showed the least 
indication of having grasped the situation. 

A new Governor, Yuan Shih-kai, was 
appointed to Shantung, in place of Yii 
Hsien, recalled to the capital, and at first 
it was thought that the Empress Dowager 
was afraid to allow the disturbances to 
continue, and had sent Yuan Shih-kai, 
with his well-drilled soldiers, to act with 
a firm hand. Such was, however, far from 
being the case. Yii Hsien, when he arrived 
at Peking, was received with honor by the 
Empress Dowager, rewarded, and appointed 
Governor of Shansi. The " Boxers " were, 
consequently, emboldened to advance be- 
yond the mere baiting of defenceless native 
Christians, and they turned their attention 
to the foreign missionary. The first mis- 
sionary to be murdered by them was the 
Rev. S. M. Brooks, of the S. P. G. Mission, 
in North China. Mr. Brooks was stationed 
at Pingyin, and had gone to Taiyuan to 
visit his sister, who had lately arrived in 
China as the bride of the Rev. H. J. Brown, 
of the same mission. On his way back to 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 8; 

his station Mr. Brooks was attacked by the 
u Boxers" and wounded, and afterwards be- 
headed. An attempt was made by the Brit- 
ish Government to bring the murderers to 
justice. A trial was held before the Provin- 
cial judge of Shantung, in conjunction with 
Mr. C. W. Campbell, of Her British Majesty's 
Consular Service, and some few scapegoats 
were decapitated by way of punishment. 
The result, however, was only to increase 
the bloodthirstiness of the " Boxers." 

In the issue of the " North China Daily 
News," dated February 14, 1900, occurs the 
significant prophecy, that unless the leaders 
of the Boxer movement be immediately ar- 
rested, "it is morally certain that the open- 
ing spring will witness a rising such as 
foreigners in China have never seen before. 
The whole country, from the Yellow River 
to the Great Wall and beyond, will be in a 
blaze of insurrection, which will not only 
annihilate every foreign interest of every 
sort in the interior, but will drive every 
foreigner out of Peking and Tientsin under 
conditions which it is not difficult to fore- 



88 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

see. There has been more or less danger 
of such an uprising for a long time. Unless 
strong and united efforts are now put forth, 
it is as certain to take place as any future 
event can well be. Those who are inter- 
ested in preventing it will act accordingly." 
Such warnings as these' were disregarded, 
with the consequences with which we are, 
unhappily, so familiar, and which have 
appalled the whole civilized world. Yuan 
Shih-kai failed to suppress the disturb- 
ances. His failure may be attributed to 
the fact that he knew his imperial mis- 
tress was not in earnest, and that his own 
soldiers were largely in sympathy with 
the "Boxers." 

The governor showed his weakness in 
the instructions forwarded by him to the 
missionaries in the province. The editorial 
in the " North China Daily News" for 
March 19, 1900, commenting upon these 
instructions, remarks : 

" ' As far as the Chinese Government is 
concerned/ says our correspondent, * the 
whole thing is much like a public school, 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 89 

where the mistress will not allow the good 
children to go out in the yard lest the bad 
boys pound them. Only in this case the 
mistress and the bad boys seem to be in 
partnership, while the school board (the 
foreign ministers) sanction the proceeding, 
being afraid that otherwise somebody will 
raise a rumpus and break up the school/ 
General Yuan Shih-kai, we learn, has noti- 
fied his subordinates to communicate with 
the heads of the different missions within 
his jurisdiction, instructing them that 'the 
missionaries are not to come and go as they 
please, but only when it is absolutely neces- 
sary to travel on important business ; and 
in such cases they are to apply to the 
nearest local official, who will provide them 
with a military escort.' The value of such 
an escort, if the missionary encountered a 
party of well-armed ' Boxers ' may be im- 
agined. After specifying some less impor- 
tant requirements, Yuan Shih-kai goes on 
to say: Mn case any of the missionaries 
refuse to comply with these requests, and 
the ""Boxers" cause trouble, the local offi- 



go THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

cials cannot well be held responsible for 
the missionaries' safety/" 

It is unnecessary to tabulate recent oc- 
currences in China, and I may close my 
narrative here. What has transpired has 
fully proved that there never could have 
been a " Boxer" movement if it had not 
received encouragement from those in high- 
est authority. From the beginning the 
j Empress Dowager has viewed the " Boxers" 
as a most important ally, to be employed, 
when the proper moment arrived, for " driv- 
ing the foreigners into the Yellow Sea." 
In the edicts issued against them there has 
always been a note of insincerity. She con- 
stantly refers to them as " patriots," although 
cautioning them to refrain from disturb- 
ances. The complicity of the Chinese Gov- 
ernment is proven without a shadow of a 
doubt by recent events. The upheaval un- 
doubtedly took place before the Empress 
Dowager was ready for it ; but as soon as it 
became a fact we find the imperial troops 
and the " Boxers " acting in concert. The 
detention of the ministers at Peking, and the 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 91 

attempt to massacre them, were both by the 
command of the Empress Dowager. She 
and her cherished adviser, Prince Tuan, 
have showed their hands most plainly. The 
documents found in the Yamen in Tientsin, 
after the capture of that city, implicate the 
Imperial Government to the fullest extent. 
The Boxers, we may conclude, precipitated 
the outbreak before the government was 
quite prepared ; but the storm was brew- 
ing even previous to their appearance, and 
sooner or later was bound to burst. It is 
difficult for us to conceive of such stupen- 
dous ignorance and fatuous folly as has 
been displayed by the Empress Dowager 
and her clique; but, after all, the attempt 
to drive the white man from China does 
not differ very materially from the attempt 
of the Hindoo to expel the British from 
India. Fanaticism, race hatred, and dread 
of complete subjugation to the foreigner 
are among the strongest motives that sway 
the human race. 



Missionary Enterprise 
in China 



Missionary Enterprise 
in China 

THE recent troubles in China are often 
attributed, by superficial critics, to 
the active missionary work in progress in 
the empire. It is argued (i) that the mis- 
sionary antagonizes the religious beliefs of 
the people ; (2) that he interferes in politi- 
cal affairs ; that he depends upon the 
strong secular arm to help him in his work, 
and pleads, whenever he considers himself 
in danger, for the protection of the gunboat ; 
(3) that he arrogates to himself the airs 
and prerogatives of an official of the em- 
pire, and (4) that he disseminates doctrines 
that can only lead to rebellion. 

We must endeavor to examine these 
charges with an unbiased mind, in order 
to discover whether they are well founded, 
and to how great an extent missionary work 



96 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

may be held responsible for the outbreak 
in China, (i) The first accusation is that 
the missionary antagonizes the people and, 
acting in the spirit of an iconoclast, dispar- 
ages Confucianism and derides Buddhism. 

It is asked: " If the Evangelists of some 
new faith were to appear in England, drawn 
from a race whom we hated and despised, 
and were to commence their preaching by 
denouncing the Bible, and crying an ana- 
thema upon the Apostles' Creed, what sort 
of a reception would they meet with ? " * 

In a spirit of entire frankness, we do 
not think that the missionary body can, 
as a whole, plead not guilty to this indict- 
ment. When one considers the vast num- 
ber of missionaries in China, and how re- 
ligious enthusiasts are apt to be men of ill- 
balanced minds, it cannot but be that some 
few will be found engaged in missionary 
work who endanger and injure their cause 
by indiscretion in word and deed. Having 
admitted this, we are still far from holding 
missionary enterprise responsible for the re- 

* Curzon's " Problem of the Far East," p. 289. 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 97 

cent troubles. The Chinese, as a race, are 
not a religious people, but, on the whole, 
are extremely indifferent as to spiritual mat- 
ters. They have no respect for Buddhism. 
It is a foreign religion in China, and 
they will listen with great and apparent en- 
joyment to attacks made upon the follies 
of Buddhistic teaching and idolatry. If 
the Chinese possessed sincere religious 
convictions, there might be some show of 
reason in tracing the origin of the out- 
break to the fact that their feelings had 
been outraged. 

For the teachings of Confucius and for 
the Sage himself, the Chinese, high and low, 
have a most profound respect ; but we do not 
think that missionaries, as a class, can be 
accused of intentionally attacking the Con- 
fucian Code of Ethics. The missionary, 
after all, is a man of some common sense, and 
soon perceives that he gains his point better 
by some apt quotation from the classics in 
support of his plea, than by criticising the 
teachings of the great Sage. We must also 

bear in mind that for idolatry per se, the 

7 



98 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

Chinaman himself has not a good word to 
say. The Confucianists will join hands 
heartily with the Christian in his condem- 
nation of image worship. The follower of 
Confucius looks with contempt upon the 
Buddhist and Taoist sects, and regards 
their cults as, perhaps, good for women and 
children and the ignorant, but of no value 
for the scholarly man. 

To us in the West, the subject of su- 
premest importance is religion. It is not so 
in China. And any argument based upon 
this assumption is utterly fallacious. In 
making this defence, we do not forget that, 
of course, there is a sense in which Chris- 
tianity is bound to antagonize the Chinese. 
The founder of the Christian religion Him- 
self said, " I came not to bring peace, but 
a sword." Wherever the Christian Church 
has spread, by its fundamental doctrines it 
has introduced revolutionary forces. The 
Christian Church cannot countenance ances- 
tor worship. Apart from the religious ques- 
tion involved therein, it perceives that this 
practice works untold harm in China, keep- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 99 

ing the faces of the people ever turned to- 
ward the past instead of toward the future. 
Again, the Christian Church calls upon its 
converts to exalt the will of God above the 
will of the Emperor. When, as in the 
Roman Catholic Church, the Pope is re- 
garded as God's vicegerent on earth, we 
can see what disastrous results must follow. 
An illustration of this was furnished by the 
controversy regarding a proper translation 
for the word " God," when the Romish 
converts were forced to accept the Pope's 
decision as outweighing the wishes of the 
Emperor of China. But those Protestant 
Bodies which emphasize least of all the 
existence of a visible church, are engaged 
in founding in China a society which has 
its own laws and forms, and which differ- 
entiates the Christian Chinaman from his 
countrymen. As Christianity gains a firmer 
hold in China, it is bound to become more 
and more unpopular with the heathen, and 
cannot expect to escape persecution. I 
am convinced, however, that the age of per- 
secution from purely religious motives has 

LtfC 



ioo THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

not yet arrived, and that unless there had 
been other more active causes, the recent 
massacre of Christians would not have 
transpired. Indeed, among many of the 
heathen, Christianity, at present, is re- 
garded with much favor. They are im- 
pressed by its benevolent aspect, and ap- 
preciate the benefits to be derived from 
the schools, hospitals, and other charitable 
institutions which missionaries establish. 

(2) The second charge is that Chris- 
tianity is unpopular because of political in- 
terference, its dependence upon the strong 
secular arm, and the clamor for gunboats in 
the hour of danger. Missionaries are said 
to claim special privileges on behalf of their 
native converts when they are engaged in 
litigation or other disputes, and generally to 
interfere in the civil affairs of the neighbor- 
hood in which they reside. In answer to 
this indictment, we fear that Roman Cath- 
olic missionaries, at least, will have to plead 
guilty. Undoubtedly of late years the 
Roman Catholic priests have persistently 
brought pressure to bear upon the local 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 101 

officials to decide all cases of litigation in 
favor of their converts. Many have been 
attracted to their fold by the hope of obtain- 
ing the powerful assistance of the Church 
in lawsuits. Protestants, too, have not 
been wholly guiltless of this political med- 
dling, but in their case, the interference 
has been attempted only when they be- 
lieved that the cause was a just one. 

The fact to be born in mind, however, 
when we would pass judgment upon mis- 
sionaries for this method of procedure, is 
the almost utter impossibility of a China- 
man obtaining justice in a Chinese court 
of law. Nothing but bribery will win a 
lawsuit in China, and the innocent man 
who falls into the clutches of the Chinese 
mandarin without the wherewithal to grease 
his palms is in a bad plight. It is surely 
natural that when a missionary sees justice 
outraged, and knows by his intercession he 
can procure the punishment of the guilty 
and the release of the innocent, he should 
be led to make it. The wisdom of such 
a policy may be debatable, but the tempta- 



102 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

tion to pursue it, while China remains the 
utterly corrupt country she now is, must al- 
ways be very great. That this policy is 
one to be resorted to only when all other 
modes of procedure have failed is, how- 
ever, we can honestly say, the opinion of 
the vast majority of Protestant mission- 
aries, and their practice proves it. We 
wish we could speak as positively of 
Roman Catholic missionaries, but we fear 
it must be frankly owned that by their 
continued interference in the courts of 
the magistrates, by their defence of their 
converts, however unworthy these converts 
may be, and by their tempting proselytes 
with this bait of the help of the arm of 
the Church, they have done much to an- 
tagonize the Chinese. 

As to the second part of this charge — the 
appeal for armed assistance — the criticism is 
often made that " though the missionaries 
buckle on their armor as the soldiers of 
Christ, they remember in times of peril that 
they are citizens of this or that Empire or 
Republic, and clamor for a gunboat by 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 103 

which to insure respect for the Gospel." * 
It is sometimes jocularly said that in former 
days missionary work was conducted in the 
spirit of Henry Martyn, but that in these 
present times it is more often attempted in 
the spirit of the Martini-Henri. Can this 
charge be substantiated ? In the first place, 
is it true ? We think that it is founded 
upon gross exaggeration. When appeal 
has been made for such assistance it has 
only been after the most violent outrages. 
If missionaries in China were minister- 
ing to cannibals, or barbarians such as are 
found in darkest Africa, they would expect 
to take their lives in their hands, and there 
could be no thought of an appeal for pro- 
tection to Home Governments ; but it is 
not so. They take up their residence in 
the interior of China relying upon treaty 
rights. Their safety is guaranteed to them 
by the Chinese Government. It may be 
unfortunate that these rights were obtained 
as the result of wars, but surely they are not 
to be waived on that account. The Im- 

Curzon's " Problem of the Far East," p. 298. 



104 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

perial Government has repeatedly prom- 
ised to protect both the life and property 
of all engaged in peaceful missionary en- 
terprise. Read, for instance, the Imperial 
Edict published in the " Peking Gazette," 
June 13, 1891 : 

"The right of foreign missionaries to 
promulgate their religions in China is pro- 
vided for by treaty and by edicts, which 
were previously issued ; the authorities of 
all the provinces were commanded to afford 
them protection as circumstances required. 
. . . The religions of the West have for 
their object the inculcation of virtue, and 
though people become converts they still 
remain Chinese subjects and continue to be 
amenable to the jurisdiction of the local 
authorities. . . . The local authorities 
are bound to afford due protection at all 
times to the persons and property of for- 
eign merchants and foreign missionaries, 
and must not allow them to be injured by 
evil characters." 

When massacres take place, then, it is 
the duty of the missionary to enter pro- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 105 

test, and ask for reparation. In the eyes 
of the Westerner, a treaty is a sacred thing, 
and the Chinese Government must be com- 
pelled to abide by its own promises. If 
the missionary had been more clamorous 
and if the Home Governments had sup- 
ported him more energetically, we would 
not have been landed in the present 
wretched state of affairs. The indisposi- 
tion, on the part of Home Governments, 
to exact condign punishment from China 
for the violation of treaties, especially 
where missionaries are concerned, has led 
China to believe that, after all, the mis- 
sionary's life is not regarded as of very 
great value, and that no serious conse- 
quences will follow if a few be murdered. 

We must remember, ere we condemn 
the missionary, that after the Kucheng 
massacre the C. M. Society of the Church 
of England actually asked the British Gov- 
ernment to seek no redress from China. 
We are of the opinion that this society 
was guided by false principles of senti- 
mentality, but we refer to their action in 



106 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

order to show how unjust it is to charge 
the missionary with always appealing for 
vengeance to the Home Government. 

(3) The third charge brought against the 
missionary is that he arrogates to himself 
the airs and prerogatives of the officials of 
the empire. 

In answer to this charge we are reluc- 
tantly obliged to admit that, as regards the 
Roman Catholic missionaries, it is a just 
one. The idea of being a society possessed 
of temporal power has always been cher- 
ished by the Roman Church. Her mission- 
aries in China have accepted the imperial 
offer of assuming the status and preroga- 
tives of officials of the empire, and have 
gone far beyond the letter of the decree in 
setting up their own tribunals and under- 
taking to govern their converts. 

The principal articles of the decree con- 
ferring rank upon the Roman hierarchy are 
as follows (I quote them in full, as I have 
found much ignorance as to the peculiarly 
aggravating attitude of the Romish Church 
in China) : 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 107 
"AN IMPERIAL DECREE. 

"PUBLISHED ON THE I5TH OF MARCH, 1899. 

" Churches of the Catholic religion, the 
propagation of which has been long since 
authorized by the Imperial Government, 
having been built at this time in all the 
provinces of China, we long to see the 
Christians and the people live in peace, 
and, in order to make their protection 
more easy, it has been agreed that local 
authorities shall exchange visits with mis- 
sionaries under the conditions indicated in 
the following articles: 

" 1. In the different degrees of the ec- 
clesiastical hierarchy, bishops being in rank 
and dignity the equals of viceroys and gov- 
ernors, it is agreed to authorize them to 
demand to see viceroys and governors. 
. Vicars-general and archdeacons 
will be authorized to demand to see pro- 
vincial treasurers and judges, and taotais. 
Other priests will be authorized to see pre- 
fects of the 1st and 2d class, independent 



108 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

prefects, sub-prefects, and other function- 
aries. 

" 2. When a mission affair, grave or im- 
portant, shall come up unexpectedly in any 
province, the bishops and the missionaries 
of the place should ask for the intervention 
of the minister or consuls of the power to 
which the Pope has confided the protec- 
tion of religion. These last will regulate 
or finish the matter, either with the Tsungli 
Yamen or the local authorities. In order 
to avoid protracted proceedings, the bishop 
and the missionaries have equal right to 
address themselves at once to the local 
authorities, with whom they may negotiate 
the matter and finish it." 

The missions of the Anglican Communion 
and other Protestant Churches have unani- 
mously refused to ask for any similar privi- 
leges, foreseeing clearly that, although the 
possession of such would vastly increase 
their power, yet this assumption would be 
attended with the gravest dangers, and 
could not but make their cause unpopular 
in the eyes of the Chinese. 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 109 

Here, again, we must state that it is our 
conviction that the policy of the Roman 
Church in this matter has been one of the 
causes of the present outbreak ; but, at the 
same time, we must not forget that, had it 
not been for the weakness and inability of 
the Chinese Government to preserve order 
and suppress anti-Christian disturbances, 
the Roman Catholic Church would never 
have been in a position to demand or se- 
cure the rights which she now possesses. 

(4) The fourth and last charge against 
missionaries calls for only a few words. 
They are said to disseminate teachings that 
inevitably lead to rebellion. To this indict- 
ment the missionary would probably will- 
ingly plead guilty. He knows that he is 
pouring " new wine into old bottles." He 
is proud to be a leader in the great move- 
ment of enlightening the Chinese. He es- 
tablishes schools and colleges, and teaches 
in them what constitutes true civilization, 
and what it is necessary for China to learn 
if ever she would take her place among the 
progressive nations of the world. He trans- 



no THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

lates books on religious, ethical, political, 
economical, and scientific subjects, and is 
doing all in his power to stir up the stag- 
nant pool that surrounds him. 

It may truly be said that the missionary 
has been the founder of the Reform Party 
in China. What then ? Must he desist 
from his efforts in order that the old 
laissez-faire policy of those interested in 
keeping China as she is, may succeed ? 
We think not. The policy that trembles 
at the thought of any possible disturbance 
of trade is extremely short sighted. For 
the present gain it would relinquish vast 
future possibilities. 

The Christian missionary never incites 
to active rebellion ; but if his teachings tend 
to produce revolution and to accomplish 
the formation of a new China, he ought to 
receive the gratitude of the whole human 
race. He is bound to impart the knowl- 
edge of which he has become a legatee, 
and cannot be frightened from his task by 
the probable consequences. 

We conclude, then, that although the 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA in 

spread of Christianity has been frequently 
attended with anti-Christian riots, the mis- 
sionaries have been attacked rather because 
they were foreigners than because they were 
propagators of the Christian religion. 



What Shall be 
Done about It ? 



What Shall be 
Done about It? 

1HAVE now discussed, to the best of 
my ability, the causes of the present 
outbreak. We have seen that it is danger- 
ously near developing into a national up- 
rising directed against foreigners, and we 
have attributed the chief responsibility for 
it all to the Empress Dowager and her anti- 
foreign clique. 

The questions that are uppermost in 
every one's mind at present are, first, What 
shall be done to allay the storm ? Second, 
After the disturbance has been suppressed, 
what shall be done with China? 

We can give here only the briefest an- 
swers to these two questions. 

As we stated at the outset, it seems to 
us all important that the Western Powers 



u6 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

should clearly recognize that they are deal- 
ing with something more than a local re- 
bellion, and should fully comprehend the 
complicity of the Chinese Government in 
the whole affair. 

China must be once for all thoroughly 
humiliated. Upon the Empress Dowager, 
Prince Tuan, Kang Yi, Tung Fu-hsiang, 
and other leaders the heaviest punishment 
possible must fall. China must be taught 
finally the lesson that treaties cannot be 
openly and persistently violated, and must 
be so chastised that she will never offend 
again. Something more than the capture 
of Peking is necessary. Wherever there 
have been anti-foreign uprisings punitive 
expeditions should penetrate, and the guilty, 
responsible for the massacre of innocent 
women and children, be made to pay the 
full penalty for their barbarous cruelty. 
The arrogancy and self-conceit of ages must 
be trailed in the dust. Only thus can we 
insure it that the " sun will never shine 
down again " upon such scenes as we have 
lately witnessed. 



What Shall be 
Done with China ? 



What Shall be 
Done with China? 

CHINA humiliated, a just punishment 
inflicted, and what then ? This is the 
question that is to occupy the minds of 
diplomats for many months to come. There 
are two alternatives : First, if alive, the 
Emperor Kwang Hsu must be reinstated, 
and, supported by a strong foreign joint 
protectorate, China must enter upon a 
course of reform. The fiscal, military, edu- 
cational, and other departments of the 
government must all be supervised by 
foreigners until China is able properly 
to govern herself; or, second, China must 
be partitioned among Western Powers, and 
the integrity of the empire destroyed. All 
that I shall attempt to do is to tabulate 
the pros and cons, as far as I am able, of 
these two distinct policies. 



120 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

I. Arguments in Favor of the Resto- 
ration OF KWANG HSU, AND THE 

Maintenance of the Integrity 
of China. 

(i) It is extremely popular with the 
mass of the Chinese officials and people. 

(2) It is the easiest, quickest, and most 
economical form of settlement. 

(3) It interferes least with present trade 
relations and with already existing conces- 
sions. 

(4) It preserves the "open door," and 
insures equal trade advantages for all. 

(5) It is the policy openly avowed by 
Great Britain, the United States, and 
Japan. 

Arguments against this Policy. 

(1) Joint protectorates never work har- 
moniously — the interests of the different 
nations are too diverse — and are certain 
to lead to endless jealousies and future 
complications. 

(2) The Chinese officials would pursue 
their old game of playing off the repre- 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 121 

sentatives of one nation against those of 
another. 

(3) The Chinese Government needs 
something more than mere supervision 
to adapt it to present-day requirements. 
It should be completely remodelled. At 
present it is like a bundle of loosely bound 
sticks, and lacks cohesion. 

(4) Russia, Germany, and France will 
never be satisfied with this form of settle- 
ment. They have other ambitions in re- 
gard to the East. 

(5) It is at best only a temporary expe- 
dient, and postpones the evil day. 

II. Arguments in Favor of the Parti- 
tion of China. 

(1) It has already begun, and cannot be 
permanently checked. Russia, Germany, 
and France will never relinquish the ad- 
vantages already gained. 

(2) After a division of the various 
spheres of interest had been amicably 
arranged, future causes of quarrel would 
be removed. 



122 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

(3) It is immensely easier for separate 
nations to introduce reforms into their re- 
spective jurisdictions, than for a joint pro- 
tectorate to do the same for the whole 
country. A composite administration, a 
composite legislative system, military or- 
ganization, etc., would never prove efficient. 

(4) The possibilty of China eventually 
falling into the clutches of any one nation 
— Russia, for instance — would be forever 
averted. 

(5) Peace and order would be perma- 
nently secured, and the natives would have 
the same advantages as if residing in the 
various countries to whose jurisdiction they 
had been assigned. 

Arguments against Partition. 

(1) The initial difficulty in the adjust- 
ment of the claims of the various nations 
would lead, perhaps, to war and bloodshed. 

(2) The future possibility of friction as 
to boundaries. 

(3) The unpopularity of the policy in 



THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 123 

China itself would necessitate a war of con- 
quest, to be followed by endless rebellions. 

(4) The interference with foreign trade, 
owing to the differential tariffs adopted by 
the various sections. 

(5) The difficulty of adjustment as to 
capital already invested by foreign nations 
in China. 

I must leave to diplomats the weighing 
of these pros and cons, which, perhaps, I 
have stated fully enough to show how com- 
plex the problem is. 

It is always dangerous to indulge in a 
forecast, but if I might undertake the 
role of the prophet, the possible future of 
China would seem to me to be something 
like the following: However the question 
may be settled diplomatically, Russia will 
continue her aggressions in the North, 
Germany in the East, France in the South. 
The Chinese Empire will be confined to 
the provinces bordering on the great Yang- 
tsze River. Great Britain, the United 
States, and Japan will strive to preserve 
the integrity of this part of China and 



124 THE OUTBREAK IN CHINA 

defend it from further inroads. Whether 
what remains will ever become a strong 
and enlightened nation, or will continue 
to be the open sore of the East as Turkey 
is of the West, no one can foresee. 

The policy of the United States con- 
cerns us most. She holds in her grasp 
great power for good or evil. Her wisest 
course would seem not to take part in a 
joint protectorate of China, or, on the 
other hand, to assist in any partition of 
her dominions. She should exert the 
whole of her influence to secure a speedy 
retribution for the present outbreak, and 
to help bring about the most equitable 
settlement possible of the conflicting claims 
of the various nations. She stands by her 
position almost as an arbiter, and should 
strive to play her part so that the result 
of the present upheaval shall be not 
merely further land grabbing, or the in- 
crease of commerce, but the advancement 
of Christian civilization in the Far East. 



NOV 6 1900 






